More Imperialism

More "imperialism" by the United States continued after the Spanish-American War. In 1899, an "Open Door Policy" with China provided for open, free trade by all nations, which boosted world trade with China and ended "spheres of influence" by which a western country would claim exclusive influence over certain regions of that vast country.

But anti-imperialism violence struck in 1900 in China. Called the "Boxer Rebellion," it was a massive rebellion by the Chinese against Christianity and Western imperialism. The rebellion was repressed by a unique alliance of troops from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and Austria-Hungary.

In 1900, the Foraker Act was passed by Congress to give some self-government to Puerto Rico, which by then was a U.S. territory.

In 1901, the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty between the United States and England authorized the U.S. to build a neutral canal in Central America. This led to the building of the Panama Canal, which linked efficient shipping between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean and became a huge success, much as the Erie Canal in New York had about 90 years earlier. The first ship passed through the Panama Canal in 1914.

Debate: Was imperialism all bad? Was any of it bad?

Progressive Movement

A fascinating and influential political movement began to develop around 1900: the progressive movement. It started with a Republican governor of Wisconsin named Robert LaFollette. It was not so much a political party as a movement that can be summarized in two words: "better government." Not "less government" that a conservative like President James Monroe wanted, and not "more government" that a liberal like Franklin Delano Roosevelt wanted, but "better government."

Then, as now, progressives tended to work within other political parties. We have progressives today in both parties. New Jersey Republicans like Bret Schundler (the former mayor of Jersey City) and Chris Christie tend to be more progressive than conservative. They try to run government in a smarter manner, rather than simply reducing it. We have had two progressive presidents: Republican Teddy Roosevelt and Democrat Woodrow Wilson. The high point of the movement, the "progressive era," was 1900-1920.

Here were the goals of the progressive movement:

• Political "reform"

• Suffrage for all women (Constitutional Amendment)

• Direct elections of senators (Constitutional Amendment)

• Civil service system rather than a spoils system

• More "equitable" tax laws (Constitutional Amendment)

• Breaking up monopolies

• Food and drug acts

• Child labor laws

• Laws against "sweatshops"

• Creation of a federal reserve system and federal trade commission

• Aid to farmers

• Protection of labor "rights" (pro-union)

• Government commission to regulate railroad rates

• Safety improvements in the workplace

• Direct democracy in passing referenda or initiatives to make state laws directly

• More, but smarter, regulation

• Anti-war

• Slightly pro-business

A specific example of what the progressive movement addressed was the "Triangle Fire" that took place in New York City on March 25, 1911. This was the worst workplace disaster in New York City until the terrorist attack on 9/11 (note the odd similarity in dates!). In the Triangle Fire, 140 people burned to death, many of them young girls, due to a 10-minute fire that swept through a "sweatshop" shirt factory in Manhattan. Tragically, the doors had been locked to keep workers from taking breaks or stealing goods, and the girls could not quickly escape. Public outrage followed, and the progressive movement passed building code laws to help protect against this happening again. To this day it is not know what started the Triangle Fire, and (to the chagrin of the progressives) the owners were acquitted of any crimes.^[14]